Dog-Gone Days at the Duckworth's

Labor Day 2011

2011-09-05T22:40:00.005-06:00

Duckworth Labor Day 2011:

China Chefs, Miller Motorsports Park , Marble Slab Ice cream

Enjoy!

Florida 2011

2011-07-06T19:24:00.010-06:00

Rory and I were looking for somewhere to go for our anniversary when we found a deal for Orlando! It was so fun! We went to Disneyworld, Universal Studios, and the Kennedy Space Center. It was a fun filled vacation for sure! The crowds were annoying at times but we still had a great time!

Our trip didn't really start off great though...our flight was canceled from SLC! So, we were re-routed on a different airline, which turned out to be a blessing. We were able to catch an earlier connecting flight from Houston to Orlando AND first class for FREE! Oh yeah! It was awesome. Hot towels, lunch, and free movie--"yes please"!

We spent the first few days in DisneyWorld. One day we even were able to go to Blizzard Beach (1 of 2 Disney's water park). The food in Epcot was all worth it! Dinners in France and Italy, Lunch in Britain. We never got to China (one of our favs)...but we did end up discovering a great place in Hollywood Studio's called the "Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater". It is a huge drive-through movie set up and you sit in little cars as your tables! Such a cool atmosphere! And the shakes were so yummy!

Universal Studios was fun as well! The new "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" was the big attraction where the Butterbeer was delicious!

The Kennedy Space Center was interesting. I had never been before so we thought that was a good idea for one of the days. My favorite was probably the IMAX movie about Hubble space telescope. The final shuttle launch is this week. If only it was just a week earlier! Dang... Later that night we had some GREAT seafood in Cocoa Beach. So Good!

Now some pictures..... and yes, I realize that they are backwards...Sorry.

St George Ford Ironman 2011 Training Last Chapter

2011-05-12T11:11:00.000-06:00

Finishing Time 12:43:39!!!

Christmas 2010 and New Years 2011

2011-01-03T18:56:00.007-07:00

Rory and I spent our Christmas in the beautiful 70 degree weather of Phoenix, Arizona thanks to Rory's parents, Brad and Marianne. It was a great trip! Just to get out of this cold weather and snow in Utah was well worth it!!! Unfortunately, I had to work those last 3 days before my break and then fly down that Wednesday night. Rory left the week before and stayed a few nights in St. George and Las Vegas. Down in AZ, we relaxed by the pool, went out for dinners, watched some good movies, went on a great bike ride, and had an amazing game of bowling! As part of the Duckworth's vacation, each morning was spent completing fun Minute-to-Win-it games! We competed as individuals but was assigned a partner each day. The games were really fun and made for a fun competition. Overall, we has a great vacation! Well.....at least until the ride home I guess....Rory got the stomach flu and was throwing up from Vegas until we got home! NOT fun! Especially when I got sick the next day with the same thing! Ruined two days of my break to say the least....

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures down in AZ. We did get some family pictures taken which I hope I'll be able to post some time in the future.

New Years was low key this year but very relaxing. Rory and I got some much needed shopping done that afternoon and then went to a movie with his parents. We went to "The King's Speech". It was a really great movie! Being a Speech Language Pathologist I think made it extra special for me. It is about King George the 9th (I think) who ended up ruling England during WWII. He had an extremely bad stutter and sought help from a Speech Therapist who used unorthodox methods to treat stuttering. It was such an emotionally moving story! I loved it and would definitely recommend seeing it!

Afterwards, we went home to Hutchie who had been home all day by himself....poor doggie :(
We rang in the new year while watching one the the broadcast specials on TV. That next day, we went up to my family's farm in Midway. We spent the day sledding down the hill and snowmobiling with my family! It was sure cold but a lot of fun!

Watch the video below:

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fun and safe time! I guess it is time to start thinking about New Year's resolutions....Here are some I am thinking about:

1. Drink more water each day.
2. Workout 4 times each week.
3. Complete a half marathon and continue with Triathlons.

Hope we all have a wonderful 2011!

St. George Ford Ironman 2011 Training: Week 4

2010-12-27T20:24:00.002-07:00

St. George Turkey TRI

2010-11-22T18:14:00.007-07:00

The whole family went down to St. George two weekends ago for the annual Turkey Triathlon, sprint distance. When I say the whole family, I am talking about BOTH sides of the family, Rory's and mine. My sisters and I did a relay: Afton swam, I biked, and Adrienne ran. We did pretty good! First place at the race, but then when looking online a few days later, another team popped up in first place?? Who knows where they came from, but it was still a close race! Afton and A definitely killed it on their parts. I think I could have improved my bike time. I really hadn't trained as hard as I should have....But it was really fun overall!

Rory went individual. Last year, this same TRI was one of Rory's first. He improved his time this year by almost 40 minutes!! It is SO crazy comparing his times from last year! I am so proud of him. Now he starts Ironman St. George training. We are 24 weeks away until IMSG in May. Rory has scheduled and planned out his training schedule. It looks pretty brutal! But I know he is going to do great! I'm very excited for him!

Also, Rory's mom and dad both did their first TRI. They did really well! We are both so proud of them.

So, as you can tell, our family loves TRIs! It is such a great motivator to stay in shape and exercise! I'll tell you, when I don't have a race planned, I don't care to ever get my butt to the gym. Which reminds me...I really need to plan MY next race. These races are for sure on my radar for next year (among others I haven't decided on yet):

Sprint Sprint TRI

Park City TRI

Herriman TRI

Somewhere in there I would love to do either a century (100 mile) bike ride, a half marathon, or maybe just both! Who knows....work has been pretty busy this year. The summer was great to have off for the training. So I'll just have to work out the time either before or after work...

To those of you out there, I would really recommend getting on this TRI bandwagon! Or just any type of racing. It really keeps you motivated!

Below is a video that Rory made of the Turkey TRI. Enjoy!!

Check this out!

2010-09-13T22:35:00.011-06:00

So I would normally never post any of these "before" pictures on (especially of me in a swimsuit); but I just had to show you our weight loss progress! Check it out

Before:

Rory wanted me to say that he was sucking it in for the picture above!

After:

About a year ago, Rory decided to really step up his efforts to loose weight. It has always been a battle for the both of us and Rory really went all out. As most of you know, Triathlons were his motivating source. Competition is marked within Rory's DNA so giving himself an outlet to be active with a competitive edge really encouraged him to stick with a routine of daily workouts and training. He has lost over 55 pounds! Yesterday, we decided to clean out our closet to get rid of all the clothes he just doesn't fit in anymore! Well, the picture above shows him now in what he used to wear this time last year! Last October or so, I remember he was complaining that he couldn't fit into any of his pants! He finally broke down and bought a bigger pair of pants, which are now featured in this AFTER picture. These pants signify Rory's peak of weight. I couldn't believe how much weight he had lost! It was really motivating for me to keep at it! I hope this helps any of you trying to loose weight! It really can be done! Just with a little hard work and dedication! Rory advises people to get something to keep you motivated, like TRIs are for him and plan an event like a 5k or Marathon. I am SO proud of you Rory! By the way...Rory is the skinniest now than ANYTIME I have EVER known him (9 years!). So amazing!

My weight loss is not so dramatic, but I am proud to say that I have lost about 10-12 lbs myself! Triathlons helped me also, but it wasn't until I started this UltraMetabolism diet that lbs started to shed off. It was about 5 pounds in the first two weeks, and now slowly 1-2 lbs per week since then. I haven't been good lately with training and workouts, but I just try to eat healthier including unprocessed and whole foods. I also tried on some pants yesterday, and these pants I'm trying on in the pic below are some I bought back in March. This was my PEAK and I just grew sick of not fitting into any of my work clothes, so I went out and bought these pair of pants. It was a good feeling to try them on now....

Before:

I remember feeling really fat that day in Bryce Canyon (about a year ago). I did not want any pictures taken of me! It really looks like I'm pregnant in this picture with my fat belly! It looks a lot worse blown up viewed full screen on my computer! Yuck.

and After:

Getting there....

Updates

2010-08-31T22:32:00.003-06:00

Please visit Rory's blog for updates about our most recent Triathlons!

http://swimbikerunlife.blogspot.com/

Rory did the Utah Half Ironman, only to get 3 flat tires on the bike! A few weeks ago, we both did the Herriman Tri. It was a lot of fun.

Other updates to come, but just briefly, I started my new job in Granite as an SLP. It has been pretty stressful and super busy! For now, I'm just trying to get through each week at a time. I'm really looking forward to a 3-day weekend!

Black Ridge Reservoir and Our gym

2010-08-10T23:12:00.003-06:00

Mirror Lake 2010

2010-08-02T13:04:00.006-06:00

With Courtney starting work soon, we really wanted to spend every minute left of this summer having fun. So, we went camping at Mirror Lake with the family this weekend and had a great time! Courtney and I went up Friday afternoon and stayed until Sunday. Robby, Jessica and Kelly came up Saturday night. On the way up, I decided to ride my bike from the bottom of the canyon to the camp site on the Mirror Lake Highway. It was a nice climb all the way up for about 25.5 miles. Courtney also got her new Xterra X2 wetsuit so we planned an open water swim with Kelly (my sister). My brother Robby also joined us in his first open water swim. Check out the short video I put together.

On the way home Sunday, we were starving so we stopped at this little local grub and burger joint in Kamas.

Triathlon blog!

2010-07-25T14:11:00.001-06:00

Check out our triathlon blog!

http://swimbikerunlife.blogspot.com/

Farmers Ins Toppers 2010 Denver, CO

2010-06-30T12:01:00.009-06:00

Rory made Farmers Insurance Toppers this year! I am so proud of him! Plus, it gave us a chance to get away for the weekend together. We had a great time! We stayed in downtown Denver at the Grand Hyatt, which was really close to the outdoor 16th Street Mall (similar to the gateway...almost). While there, we went to a Rockies baseball game. The stadium was HUGE! We had never been to a Major league game before so it was pretty cool! We had some classic hotdogs and fresh lemonades for dinner at the ballpark! So fun. AND we won too. Saturday, we went on this railroad ride up the canyon and took a tour of the old Silver Creek mine. It was a pretty hot day and we forgot to wear sunscreen! (explains my sunburn on formal night at the Farmers function) Our last day in Denver, we went to the amusement park called Elitch Gardens. It was pretty busy, especially the water park side. Overall, really fun trip! Thanks Rory and Farmers for making it happen! Check out some pictures:

Shark Attack TRI

2010-06-14T13:08:00.005-06:00

Saturday, I did the Shark Attack Triathlon in Riverton, UT. It's was my second TRI. Sprint distance was: 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and a 5k (3.2 mile) run. It was SO cold and

wet! It was pooring rain when we got there at 6:00 am. But before the swim started, thankfully, it stopped! My swim time was actually better than I thought it was going to be! It was so crowded in the pool! I guess I could have been a little more agressive and pushed my way through....

Next bike....It was freezing AND it started raining a bit when I was out. I was soaking wet! Rory told me that it was best to wear socks with my cycling shoes to keep my feet warm...(even though I train with no socks) Well, my socks got so wet that it probably made it worse!

Then, my run...It was ultimately my downfall. I just am so slow! I didn't stop once but I am just not at the pace I should be... I ended up placing 3rd in my age group! I was pretty surprise, but it wasn't that big of a race to begin with. I got a medal though! I thought I would never get one! Thanks Rory and Kelly for coming!

Not sure when my next one will be...I am thinking about the Herriman TRI in August. For now, training will focus on getting my run up to speed!

St. George

2010-06-14T12:48:00.004-06:00

A week ago, Rory and I were fortunate enough to get out of town and visit St. George for a few days. It was really fun and really hot! The day we left (Sunday) was 109 degrees! Rory already posted a lot about our trip on his TRI blog...check it out:

http://swimbikerunlife.blogspot.com/

We were able to do my first open water swim at Sand Hollow. It was actually really fun! The wetsuit really keeps you buoyant so it wasn't that hard! I only had to master sighting because I was zig-zagging all over the place! The bike ride after was tough! We looped around the lake in 100+ degree weather! I thought I was going to die!

Among other things, we went hiking up Snow Canyon. (Again, super hot...but we chose the middle of the day to go hiking....I would not recommend that!!)

Also, our niece Julia had her baptism while we were down there! She was so pretty in her white dress! We are so proud of her!

All in all, it was fun! Great to get away!

Check out Rory's shoes! Yes, he forgot his church shoes at home! He looked so funny! We love him though!

Graduation and Job

2010-05-24T16:08:00.000-06:00

Well, I just wanted to make a quick announcement. I realized that not everyone had heard yet, but I got a job! Two Mondays ago, I visited Nebo School District and got a job offer to work as a Speech Therapist at two of their high schools or one of their elementary schools. I thought I would have been thrilled about getting an offer, but there were some reservations with this one. Well, really just one reservation, the location. Nebo is in Spanish Fork and about one hour commute. That equals two hours of driving each day. So I told her I would take a few days and think about it. Rory and I considered our options, which even included moving to Utah County. That same day, I emailed everyone that I had interviewed with thus far. Long story short....Granite School District made me an offer two days later! Huge weight lifted to say the least! The week before, I was crying that I would never find a job. Well, after six interviews and tons of applications, I finally have a job!

Oh yes, May 6th, I graduated! I am now officially a Master! (in Speech Language Pathology in case you didn't know...) Here are some pics...

New Blog!

2010-05-12T23:22:00.003-06:00

Hello blogger friends.

I wanted to start a new blog about my adventures in Triathlons. I get a lot of people asking me how things are going and what events I am doing next. I also didn't want to take over our family blog with just triathlon news so below is my triathlon blog. It would be cool if you would add it to your blogs that you follow and come check it out every so often. I want to share this exciting sport with others and can try to help any one that has questions about triathlons. I am not an expert but have learned a ton over the past few months. I also made a big announcement on the blog the other day it's about two post down and it's a big one for me.

Thanks for your love and support!

Rory Duckworth

New blog:
Swim Bike Run... The life of a Triathlete:
http://swimbikerunlife.blogspot.com/

Update!

2010-05-09T22:40:00.003-06:00

Sorry, we have been slacking on the blog updates. Here are a few pictures with some captions on what we have been up to.

Courtney's birthday: we bought her a bike, 2010 Scott Contessa Speedster. We have been riding a lot to get ready for our triathlons.

Salt Lake Marathon: I did the half and got a PR(Personal Record). It was a lot of fun!

Spring Sprint Tri at the Kearns Oval Center: Courtney's first Tri! She did awesome. I lost 1st by 5 sec's. Kelly my sister did awesome also.

St. George Ironman: I volunteered the whole week before. It was a blast and my brother Ryan finished and did great!

Courtney's Graduation from graduate school with M.S. in Speech Language Pathology! I am so proud of her! She is still searching hard for a job but we are hopeful to find something great soon.

Nacho Mama's Challenge!!! 4 1/2 lbs of nachos!!!

2010-04-10T22:32:00.005-06:00

I am the only one to ever do the Nacho Mama's Challenge!!! 4 1/2 lbs of nachos!!! I am so sick...

New Toy!

2010-04-09T01:25:00.001-06:00

Moving :(

2010-04-01T11:07:00.005-06:00

This is kinda late notice but Rory has accepted a District Manager job with Farmers in Austin, TX. He leaves today to get up to speed with the job and will come back next week to get everything packed and moved. It really is all working out because the job market has been so tough here in Utah for me I was easily able to find a job in Austin making three times the rate in Utah. We love you all and will have lots of updates for you and If you know of anyone who would like to become an agent in Austin, TX let Rory know!

Here are a few pictures of our new hometown and the house Farmers has purchased for us.

Our New Home

YEAH RIGHT IN OUR DREAMS!!!

APRIL FOOLS!!!

Just a quick update!

2010-03-29T22:20:00.005-06:00

Icebreaker Tri

I finished 2nd but lost 1st by 7.8 sec's. (Not cool)

Jenna Hughes Tew

Ryan Myers

Cris Kiser

Tour De St. George 100 mile bike ride

This was the hardest thing I have ever done. It didn't help with the crazy winds.

Here is the route:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ut/saint-george/194341087

(I am the one in the middle with blue)

Ryan Duckworth (My brother who lives in St. George)

I hate my Duck gut!

Crazy Bike Ride!

2010-03-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

(2009 Scott CR1 Team)

The other day I went on a bike ride I no had clue where I was going. So I just decided to go visit some of my high school family friends in my old neighborhood.

Check out the ride: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ut/slc/371126845027362521

Its official 3rd place!

2010-03-12T20:22:00.006-07:00

The indoor Tri at Lifetime. I had a blast!

http://www.indoortri.com/page/show/170553-south-valley

Tuacahn Duathlon 2010

2010-03-07T14:02:00.006-07:00

Thanks Ryan, Helen, Kelly, Courtney and the Kids. It was a blast!

2nd in my age divison, 1st in the clydesdale divison, and 7th overall.

Going Private

2010-02-23T16:03:00.002-07:00

Please post a comment with your email address if you wish to keep viewing our blog. I think I will plan on going private soon....maybe by the end of the month! Thanks!

Update

2010-02-23T15:31:00.004-07:00

Well, quick update on what we have been up to lately...

I am just busy with my school externship at Bluffdale Elementary. Luckily, I am enjoying what I am doing! Also, I passed the Praxis! So now I just need to find a job...

Rory has been training hard for his many races coming up. I tell you, he is really dedicated! He goes to the gym or on a bike ride EVERY day! His next race is this weekend in St. George: The Tuacahn Duathlon (a running and biking event).

We had a nice relaxing Valentines! Just cooked dinner at home and watched the Olympics...speaking of which, we are totally obsessed with watching the Olympics! I feel really unproductive because it is consuming my life!

Here are some pics from Valentines....We made chocolate covered strawberries for dessert (not pictured). They were delicious!

Other news, we bought a new car! We decided to sell our 99 Civic and upgrade. We ended up buying a 2010 Mazda CX-7. A little shock at the gas pump last week...but that was to be expected because we have been used to purchasing Natural Gas at 93 cents per gallon for the past 2 1/2 years! The Mazda actually gets good fuel economy! And the all-wheel drive is nice for the winter and fitting a bike in the back is great too!

Were you there?

2010-01-31T22:05:00.001-07:00

YES we were!

January 14th, 2010: Jazz vs. Cavaliers

Sudiata Gaines game winning shot

Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMWO7t0b7d8&feature=youtube_gdata

Thanks Brad and Marianne for inviting us! Best game EVER!

St. George Half Marathon 2010

2010-01-31T13:14:00.003-07:00

Good Job to Rory, Helen, and Ryan for running the 1/2 Marathon. Way to complete 13.1 miles!! We are so glad the weather was dry; although, it was still freezing!

A little get-away!

2009-12-20T19:36:00.004-07:00

Rory planned this BIG surprise for me this weekend to celebrate school's ending! Saturday afternoon, we headed up to Park City and stayed a night! We both have been really busy lately so it was really fun to spend some time together!

Us leaving our house!
Tubing Hill!

Our Hotel: Treasure Mountain Inn. Really nice! All newly remodeled! It is located at the top of main street. Rory left me little hints during the week about the location! It drove me crazy! I hate not knowing about surprises!

Dinner at Baja Catina! Yumm! Our favorite!

Lovin his TJ Taxi!

We ate breakfast at the Eating Establishment. Really good food!

Thanks Rory for such a fun weekend together! Love you!!!

Unofficial End to Graduate School!

2009-12-20T19:14:00.003-07:00

Yes, after 1 1/2 years of sheer torture, I am finally done with graduate school...well, unofficially. Next semester is just externships! I'm not saying that they will be any easier! Actually I am quite convinced of the opposite, but FINALLY no more class! It was a bitter sweet ending...Everyone up there has sort of become my second family! I did after all spend most of my time with them! The week before finals, we decided to get together to celebrate the unofficial ending! We went to Fat Cats for bowling and pizza. We also did White Elephant for Christmas. Here are some pics...Here is all of us, or at least those who could make it! Poor Peter (in the middle) who had to put up with all of us girls!

Even Rory joined the fun!

So busy...

2009-12-03T18:41:00.005-07:00

I know I have been slacking on updates! I have a lot to catch-up on. But if you guys don't mind...may I just give a brief run down!!

Rory completed his first Triathlons in November! Both incidentally called the Turkey Tri (or at least I think). One in Orem, and the other in St. George. I am so proud of him!

Next, Thanksgiving was good! We didn't go to St. George like we planned but had a nice dinner at my family's house. We also did the whole Black Friday Madness deal! Even my dad joined the fun after I told him everything was 50% off at the Bass outlet! haha so funny! We really got some good deals though so it was worth it!

It's coming down to the end of the semester and I am so jammed packed with clinic paperwork, group papers, and studying for finals! I seriously have been so grouchy lately so sorry if I have offended anyone! Rory really has to put up with so much right now. On top of all this, both Rory and I have caught this stupid cold! So frustrating! It feels like I have been sick since mid October! Oh yeah, I had Bronchitis since after coming back from our cruise (in case you didn't know). I just can't wait until December 15th afternoon! I will be DONE with graduate school! (well not officially but done with all my classes because Spring is only externships!) The Christmas break won't be much as I will be studying the whole time to take the Praxis in January. But overall I am just really excited to be done with what I will have to do over these next week and a half!

Well, I probably should be getting back to homework. This post acted somewhat like a break but I really need to get back! I have to much to do! Hope everyone will have a wonderful Christmas! Hopefully I will post something new before then...

Cruise Junkies

2009-10-23T10:22:00.008-06:00

So for Fall break, I wasn 't expecting much. Just sitting at home, studying my homework...blah blah...that is what Rory had me convinced. So when I got home that Thursday night, ready to begin my Fall break, Rory let me in on a HUGE surprise! He had booked an 8 day cruise to Mexico. I was stunned to say the least! I started freaken out because of all the stuff I had to do! We planned on leaving the next day to drive to St. George, stay that night at Rory's brother's, then drive all day Saturday to CA. Thanks to the publishings of Glenn Beck, the ride was not that bad! And thanks to our NGV car, it didn't even cost that much either!

So, here was the itinerary:

Sat, Oct 10 San Diego, CA

Sun, Oct 11 Fun Day at Sea

Mon, Oct 12 Fun Day at Sea

Tues, Oct 13 Manzanillo, Mexico Arrive

Wed, Oct 14 Zihuatavnejo/Ixtapa, Mexico (our fav.)

Thurs, Oct 15 Acapulco, Mexico Arrive

Fri, Oct 16 Fun Day at Sea

Sat, Oct 17 Fun Day at Sea
Sun, Oct 18 San Diego, CA

Here are some pics! We had such a great time! Thanks Rory!!

Mexico Cruise

2009-10-19T23:48:00.001-06:00

Fitness

2009-10-07T21:46:00.006-06:00

So we decided to get our membership back to Life Time Fitness. It was nice and cheap when the weather was good to just go run outside but it's too cold now. We love Life Time because they have everything there and it's a family gym so the meatheads are at a minimum plus the place is very nice.

We really love this free "No Limit circuit" class it's on Monday and Wednesday nights. It really kicks butt one of the best work outs. They also have a lot of other free classes. I plan on swimming and running a lot more because I (Rory) plan on doing a Triathlon next month. I need a lot of work!

I am also in the market for a Heart rate monitor if anyone has some ideas or good deals leave me a comment I am a newbie at this stuff also If anyone is interested I have a few seven-day passes if you would like to try the gym.

Here are a few pictures I stole online: (All the gyms are the same)

Modern Warfare 2 vs. Praxis

2009-09-29T23:45:00.005-06:00

Something I (Rory) is looking forward to...

Something Courtney is NOT looking forward to...

(Speech Language Pathology Praxis exam)

Wishing...

2009-09-01T19:52:00.002-06:00

So I have been really trying to convince Rory that we need to do something fun for Fall Break...Last year we went to Cali and had a blast! What's more is that this year's Halloween Horror Nights at Universal look awesome!! Too bad we don't have money to blow for a road trip...

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/hollywood/2009/index.php

Bryce Canyon

2009-08-16T12:08:00.000-06:00

It has been a busy past couple of weeks! School has been crazy trying to wrap up the summer semester. I got a couple of days off before having to start the Intensive Stuttering Clinic that I signed up for. My family all headed down to Bryce Canyon National Park. It was so beautiful down there! A little cold at night but perfect in the day for hiking! Here are some pics...Wish we could have stayed longer!

Mirror Lake Camping

2009-07-15T18:34:00.006-06:00

Last weekend, Rory and I went up camping at Mirror Lake with our friends Isaak and Beth. It was really fun! (Good idea guys!)

Bald Mountain
Overlook

It was just a short drive, maybe hour and 30 mins, but it was worth it! It was so nice to get out of the heat of the city and enjoy fresh air of these beautiful mountains that we have! Rory and I agree that we live in such a beautiful state!

A bit chilly at night but it was perfect in front of the fire!

Here was our set up. We were able to fit on one single campsite which was nice (saved money).

You can see Milo and Koda chillen on the ground...We definately ate well! Wish we took more pics of our food cause we cooked up some great dishes! Friday night: grilled chicken, pasta salad, beans, and grilled pinapple! Sat: grilled sausage, corn, beans (yes again put different flavor), and shishkabobs. So good!!!

Isaak and Beth

I always enjoy the smores....Milo and KodaSaturday was spent down at the lake. Great day except for the stupid weather... Hutchie just loved it up there! He loved rolling around to get dirty and rubbing his face in smells! Don't worry a big bath was waiting for him when we got home. This is Rory "not-so-happy-cause-my-Walmart-fishing-pole-sucks" picture. He didn't want me to take the photo but I thought he might someday look back, laugh, and realized I told him so!Like I said, weather wasn't the greatest. After fishing at the lake for a couple of hours, we came back for a nap. Later on, the clouds came rolling in and just poured down!!! Sure glad we had a rain fly for our tent! Hutch got a scared from the thunder so he snuggled by Rory. They both fell asleep. So cute...

All and all really fun weekend! Much needed break from school and work!!

Harry Potter Mania!

2009-07-14T20:26:00.004-06:00

Yes, Rory and I saw it! Rory got pre-showing tickets through his work! It was great! Now I just have to finish reading the book (including the last book)!!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:52:00.004-06:00

We love you both!

Two years down...

2009-06-21T21:40:00.000-06:00

Has it really been two years!?! Time sure flies! I have to admit, I liked the weather a whole lot better two years ago than what we have been getting lately this year! It was crazy stormy yesterday when we decided to go out, so we just went to get ice cream and see the movie Star Trek, which was awesome by the way! It was fun just being together since I have been so busy lately with school! Rory is a good sport though! He is very supportive. And he never forgets to remind me to do my homework when I'm lazily sitting watching tv....

Thanks Rory for all you do! You are the best!

Here's to the many more years to come!

What we have been up to...

2009-06-07T17:08:00.006-06:00

Summer is our favorite time of the year! Rory and I love the warm weather and try to enjoy it as often as we can! So far this year, we have been able to do some fun things. Probably not as much as we would have wanted, with me so busy with school, but we try to do something fun at least once per week.

Around two weeks ago, my parents gave us some tickets to go to a special preview of the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was so beautiful! I love that it is just minutes from our house! Here are some pictures.... The guy who took our picture in front of the temple did not know what he was doing, which explains the fuzzy quality and tilted image. Oh well...

Last Friday, we played a round of golf at Riverbend golf course. We had such a great time! It was such nice weather too! Later that night, we went to eat some yummy food at El Rancho Grande in Draper. Overall, it was a fun date!

Also last weekend, we worked on the yard and planted some flowers and veggie plants. Now if we could only get our grill working and maybe get some patio furniture (Hint hint to Rory....)

Other than that, I have just been super busy with school! This week is going to be killer too. Rory keeps telling me to stick it out, I'm almost done... I just hope it is all worth it in the end!

Eastern Caribbean Cruise!

2009-05-18T19:01:00.036-06:00

One for the books! Our cruise to the Caribbean was really so much fun! It was overcast on some days and rained in the morning for 3/4 ports but it was amazing none the less! I would definately recommend it! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. Yes, we took a lot, but these were probably only half of them!!

Enjoy!

So, Rory and his sister Kelly went down a day earlier (I had a final...sad). They ended up driving down to Key West and spending some hours. Here they are at the Southern most point!

In Key West, they went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum that showcases treasure recovered for shipwrecks in the new world! Rory said this gold was so surprisingly heavy!

Fried Key Lime Pie in Key West, FL.

The next day...

On the ship! Miami in the background!

Setting sail! The wind is crazy when you start going!

I thought that many of you out there would enjoy a pic of our room. We had an Interior stateroom which was great! I thought I would have been closterphobic without a window but it was fine! We really were not in our room that often anyways! Just at night and sometimes during the day to take a rest...

Day two:

Half Moon Cay is a private island owned by Carnival. This was probably my favorite part of the trip! The ocean water was a bit colder here because we were up north in the Bahamas. Rory still thought it was fine...I am just a baby I guess.

It was so relaxing all day... You could rent various things like kayaks and buy shore excursions as well, but we really just enjoyed relaxing on the beach, playing in the sand and taking up some rays!

Our ship in the distance!

The beach was really crowded down towards the enterance but with just a short walk, you got completely out of the crowd! I couldn't understand why more people didn't just walk a little further...Just lazy I guess! We did miss the Hairy Chest contest however...Oh darn!

So beautiful!!

The sand was just amazing! I did not find one rock on the beach or in the water! It was so soft!!

What was nice is that the food was provided on Half Moon Cay! Here I am scarfing down some chow midday. Gotta love the free buffets!

This was the only line I remember having to stand in. Because the ship had to tender, which means drop anchor outside the bay, we had to take boat shuttles to and from the island. We could have easily avoided the lines if we had woken up early to go to the island in the morning and left the island before the mad rush at 5:30.

Here we are trying to shield ourselves from the sun standing in line... If you look closer, you can see how fried I got from the day on the beach. Someone forgot the sunscreen!! Oops!

Heading back towards the ship. It really was a gigantic boat!!

Here are our funny waiters Bagus and Sudiana! They were really awesome! They kept the plates of food coming even when we didn't ask!! For those who don't know crusing, every night you have the option of eating in the sit down dining room as opposed to the buffet upstairs. I don't know why you would choose otherwise because the food was really good!

Happy Mothers Day!

The view at night on Lido Deck.

The housekeeping was awesome too! They cleaned our room twice everyday! Everynight for the turn down service, we found a little towel-folded friend in our room!

Day Three:

At Sea

Yes, there is a gym on board! This is proof that we actually went! Well, only once but we took the stairs most of the time! With 9 decks between our room and Lido Deck, we really got a workout!

Formal night. Rory looked so classy! Dinner was great too! We had endless plates of yummy lobster and shrimp! So good.

Day Four:

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

This was the place for shopping! We took a short taxi shuttle ride downtown. This picture is not downtown but gives you an idea of the landscape behind. So green down there!

Later on that afternoon, we took the Captain Nautica Snorkeling Expedition. This was way fun!! You can see out speed boat in the background! So fast!

They took us to two snorkeling spots: a Buck island and Shipwreck Cove. The buck island was really cool! We saw turtles and tons of fish! One turtle came so close to me! Too bad the coral was a little dead because of global warming! The water was much warmer down here though!

On the pier.

Here we are walking back to the ship. No lines because the ship was docked!

Getting ready.

Setting sail...Bye St. Thomas!

Pretty sunset!

Another friend!

Day Four:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

It was really nice here in San Juan! The streets were really clean! For some reason Rory and I were expecting worse...

This is the Capital Building. You can see some demonstrators in the background. Their government was very familiar to the U.S. They say they will eventually become a state.

This was one stop on our city tour. Old San Juan Fort. It was built as far back as the early 1500s and used all the way up until WWII. They originaly had a huge moat set up around it! The passage ways for the water are now parking lots and streets.

In the back you can see 3 flags. The Puerto Rican CommonWealth Flag, The US flag, and some other spanish flag having something to do with the Spanish queen I think?

These bunkers on the left was added during WWII to act as a lookout for navy ships and submarines. They overlooked the entire ocean and beach front for miles!

We found a really great authentic Puerto Rican restaurant down by the pier! Really yummy! They had the best homemade fruit punch too! I think the place was called Ol' San Juan or something.

That night we went to the ship's special steakhouse. It was so fancy and elegant and Yummy! It was only a 30$ flat rate per person. Still expensive but well worth it! Only we wish we would have gotten the lobster because it looked so good! Instead we I got the New York Steak and Rory got the prime rib. Still really good!

Here is my dessert! Just amazing!

The place was filled with showcase windows of Harry Winston's Diamonds and Jewels! Thus the steakhouse was called Harry's!

This was my favorite towel friend!

Here we are rocken out to some music!

Day Five:

Grand Turk

It was a bit overcast and rainy in the morning but luckily the sun came out later on that day!

Our shore excursion.

Loading the bus to go Kayaking. On the way over the driver explained to us that the island was hit by two hurricanes last year: Hurricane Ike and Rita, which explained why the town looked so devastated! It was really sad to see their living conditions! It reminded me of footage from New Orleans following Katrina.

We found some great shells and conch shells on the beach we Kayaked to. Other than that, we did not see much of anything else. No fish, turtles...etc. Pretty disappointing...

After, Rory and I hung out at Margaritaville! Way fun! It was really a party! We got there just in time for the booty shaken contest! We got a virgin pina colada that cost us 8 bucks! It was good though. I would have been satisfied just hanging out here or on the nearby beach all day rather than wasting our money kayaking. There were also great shops just off the dock!

(Big Sexy in the booty shaking contest)

Day Six:

At sea headed home...

The ship had a section for kids. They had all these arcades! We were just goofen around in there that night with the camera!

This was the second formal night. No lobster though!

Up on Lido deck they had the buffet, suntanning, swimming pool, and the water slide! They also had a big screen that showed movies through parts of the day! We decided to hang out that night before dinner and watch Back to the Future. "Great Scott!"

The Last Supper. Here we are with our great waiters! They were so funny! But there was definately a language barrier. Did I say they were from Indonesia.

On our last cruise Rory told every one how good the food was so below is a short video of some of the great food we had. (Rory had to take a picture of everthing we ate!)

The End

Late night prank!!!

2009-05-06T19:17:00.005-06:00

Courtney fell asleep studying for finals the other night. That wont fly around our house. See the punishment below.

So funny!

Try this one at home.

(Health advisory: Don't try with anyone who has history of or who is at risk for heart attacks and/or strokes, or for those who are pregnant...or for those who don't take well to jokes....)

Mexico can keep its Swine Flu! Eastern Caribbean here we come...

2009-05-02T00:10:00.009-06:00

Wow... this has been a crazy experience with the swine flu and our Mexico cruise.The cruise company final updated our cruise with the new changed itinerary and it was horrible. We planned on going somewhere hot and sandy and they tried to send us somewhere cold and wet. The cruise told us we had 3 options

First: Go on the cruise with the new itinerary and they would also give us $100.

Second: Cancel our cruise and get a cruise line credit up to the value we paid.

Third: Change cruises. Pay the current price of the cruise (The prices suck being so close to our cruise date. We had booked our cruise a long time ago to get the great deal.) and get a crappy room because the ship is just about sold out.

Well with the scenarios above most would probably choose the second but with Courtney in grad school time off is very rare. We had been very excited for this trip. So of course I chose the third option: bite the bullet, pay more and move on. Don't worry I had 4 hours to decide because I was on the phone with Travelocity for 4 hrs & 6 Min's (good thing I have unlimited Min's). Everyone is canceling their Mexico trips and Travelocity's hold times were crazy.

If your wondering how our flights worked out that's my second part of this crazy story. We had free flights courtesy of my sister who is also coming on the cruise with us and Southwest was very nice on changing the flight except they only had 2 seats available two days before the Cruise and one seat the day before the cruise. With Courtney's finals she was unable to go on the first flight with me so my sister and I are going together and are going to get a hotel room and rental car and enjoy the Florida keys for a day.

The moral of the story is wash your hands. When you don't you might make someone like me go crazy trying to rebook there vacation. No but seriously I am very grateful it all worked out and at a crazy time like this we are able to take a fun vacation.

Since we went on our Mexico cruise last year, Courtney and I have fallin in love with cruising. below is our NEW cruise itinerary

Miami, FL
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Fun Day At Sea
St. Thomas, USVI
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Grand Turk
Fun Day At Sea
Miami, FL

(Some of last years cruise pictures)

Mexico Cruise

2009-04-29T12:40:00.006-06:00

Just an update: We were planing on going on a 7 day Mexico cruise but with the whole swine flu and the fact that we don't want to die on a boat, they have re-routed the cruise and now it's going to San Fransisco??? That sounds so fun! NOT!!!

Exhausted!

2009-04-16T17:31:00.002-06:00

I know that I should make better use of my time and post a real post, however, I really have to get back to clinic reports and paperwork!! Just wanted to let you all know that Rory and I are still alive (in case you were wondering!). I have been super busy with school, trying to wrap up the semester. Rory is still working hard trying to earn the doe! A couple of other great things lately: Easter was great, my little brother Jake went to the MTC on Wednesday (pictures to come), Rory and I have become board-game nerds, and Hutch is officially an executioner! (Longer story) I promise to elaborate but if I keep procrastinating on my homework, I will be up again all night like the other week! (not sure if I talked about that one either...geez! I really need to keep up on this blogging)

Hope all is well with everyone out there! Again, stay tuned for more updates....

Movin on Up!!!

2009-04-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

As everyone knows the Real estate market has been way down and My business has been way up so Courtney and I wanted to take advantage of the great home deals. We made an offer on a home this week and they accepted the offer!!! We liked this house because it is closer to my work and it should allow us to have a few kids with plenty of space.

Take a look!!!

YEAH RIGHT IN OUR DREAMS!!!

APRIL FOOLS!!!

Zion Not Zion's

2009-03-24T13:29:00.015-06:00

Just wanted to post some pic's of our relaxing trip to Zion and St. George.

Thanks, Mcfees and Duncans it was a blast.

Rory & Courtney Duckworth

Adios Elder Ward

2009-03-16T14:17:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my little brother's farewell. He will be serving in the Mexico City, East misson. When he first got up to the podium, it really hit me that I wouldn't see him for 2 whole years! He did an amazing job speaking! I couldn't believe that it was my little brother standing up there! He was so inspirational and I know that he'll be a great missionary! Good luck Jake! Love you!

COMCAST!!!

2009-03-08T13:15:00.001-06:00

Empty house

2009-03-04T20:57:00.003-07:00

Well, now that the smell of burnt popcorn is finally starting to fade, the house has gotten kinda lonely recently! Rory is "having an amazing time" (direct quote) at a Farmers convention at no where else but Wendover, NV of all places. So, that leaves Hutch and I home by ourselves... I feel especially bad for Hutchie because I am gone all day then too tired to play with him when I get home! The wind last night was way too scary for me to be alone! I had to check my doors twice before I went to bed! Yes, I know I'm a mess! But the wind was seriously shaking my house! Well, Hutch is bugging me now to go on a W-A-L-K. I better take him...

Burnin' down the house!

2009-02-28T23:15:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was one for the books....I was just not having one of my better days! While playing board games with our friends, Issak and Beth, at our house last night, I thought I should make some popcorn. So I got a a bag and popped it in the microwave...not a hard task right? Well 3 minutes too long later, I saw in the corner of my eye smoke flooding the kitchen, pouring out from the microwave! Now from the time that I yelled "oh my gosh!", which set Rory and the rest of them in action, until a few minutes later that I was opening the doors, I really do not remember what happened! My mind is really a blank! Issak thinks I was just sitting there in shock for a few minutes! I really don't know...I remember grabbing a board game lid and waving at the smoke? Who knows! At least the others didn't freeze like me! All I know is that our house is still standing! I just can't wait for our the burnt popcorn smell to go away! It is pretty bad, especially down stairs in the kitchen!

It really was a day for fires, or "fire scares" I should say. At school in the morning, right in the middle of class, the fire alarms went off. The best was when my teacher said "oh, do we have to leave?" haha I love her though...I'm proud to say that I did not freeze then! I was actually one of the first people out of the building! We went back in after a few minutes, just a false alarm because they were testing the alarms. Although, during the rest of class, the fire alarm sounded about every 10 minutes! I got really annoying after a the first few!

Jury Duty

2009-02-19T18:45:00.003-07:00

Yes, I was called this week to serve jury duty on top of everything else going on in my life! School has been really crazy so when I received the summon, I about fell off my chair! This week, we had two scheduled exams! I luckily only had to serve yesterday and my tests were on Tuesday and today. It was a pretty interesting process to be honest with you. You go into the courtroom and they began the interviewing process. I just couldn't believe some people... you could tell they were saying just about ANYTHING to get out of being selected! Some lady all snotty said, "I just don't think I believe in our Judicial system." right to the judge! It was really funny to see the reaction on the judge's face. Needless to say, that lady wasn't picked so I guess she got what she wanted... humm some people. Well I found this funny cartoon that relates somewhat to my experience this week. :') Enjoy!

The Man Rules

2009-02-11T00:12:00.003-07:00

The Man Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Finally , the guys' side of the story.

( I must admit, it's pretty good.)

We always hear " the rules" From the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules!Please note.. these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down.You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports: It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides.Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:

Subtle hints do not work!

Strong hints do not work!

Obvious hints do not work!

Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do somethingOr tell us how you want it done. Not both.If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials...

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT
need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Thank you for reading this.

Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

I hate you Punxsutawney Phil

2009-02-02T11:03:00.007-07:00

Well, If you hadn't heard, that stupid rat from PA came out this morning and declared another 6 more weeks of winter. I am just so sick of this cold! It is so miserable and pointless! All the winter brings is disease and car accidents. Maybe if I had money to enjoy our state's slopes, I would think different. I did enjoy the other weekend playing in the snow up at my family's farm. But I think I am just ready for it to be over! Weather forecasters have been wrong before, who are we to trust a groundhog named Phil? Okay, I realize I'm getting to carried away with all this...I'll try to look at the bright side of today. Maybe on TV later, they will show Groundhog Day with Bill Murray! I love that show! "Phil...Phil Conners, Ned Rierson! Now don't say you don't remember me cause I sure in heck fire remember you!" lol what a classic!

Well I hope you all have a great Groundhog day! Stay warm.

Oh, a special thanks to Rory for keeping up the blog! School has been super crazy.

Pet-peeves:

2009-01-23T23:23:00.002-07:00

Rory again,

Sorry, I need to vent and list off a few things that totally just get on my nerves!

(I would love to hear your list...)

Shopping Carts of Lazy People

Please walk your shopping cart to the proper spot. Are you really that lazy? and don't give me "That's their job" (meaning the store's clerks'). I can't tell you how many times I go to the store on a busy day and there are no parking spots because shopping carts fill all potential spots. (If your homeless your okay to not return your cart)

Opening Doors

I walked out of the gym yesterday and this nicely dressed man totally lets the door slam in my face. After saying "Thank You", common courtesy #2 taught in my parents' home was to always open doors for others.

Smokers!!!

This one hits hard.

Dear Smoker, Please do not stand by the door of an entrance, in a line, or sit by me smoking your cancer-causing drag.

I know this is way gross, but I have been tempted to go fart in these people's faces and wait for them to get mad at me so I could tell them how I feel about smelling their crap.

Busy Bee!!!

2009-01-21T22:29:00.009-07:00

This is Rory and Hutch and we have taken over the blog! Courtney has been so busy with school she can't even think about doing the blog.

Hutch and I have stayed busy!!!

Playing Xbox360

Family Home Evening

Watching Football. Go Cards!!!

Our favorite: Chewing on a bone!!!

Poor Courtney missing all the fun!!!

Wingsuit Base Jumping!!!

2009-01-16T12:27:00.002-07:00

This is so cool!

Enjoy!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

One down..

2009-01-11T23:10:00.002-07:00

..And 4 more to go! Rory has been nagging me to post something about my grades from this last semester. Well, I got all A's! Only four more semesters to go. I start tomorrow and am sort of nervous for clinic! This is our first semester of real clinic work with our own clients. I have only received one client so far, which is frustrating because they should have been all assigned to me by now! This is on the agenda tomorrow of one of the things I need to figure out! Well, wish me luck! They say that this is the hardest semester of the program...Yeah for me!

Coolest Dog Ever!

2009-01-06T20:46:00.006-07:00

Okay, so Rory and I have to admit that we have the coolest dog ever! As a game for Hutch, we like to hide treats in different places for him to sniff out! We were hiding these candies tonight and he was seriously finding them in under 30 seconds flat! We thought to record it for you all to witness! This video is no joke! We did not prep Hutch by any means! The boundaries were anywhere upstairs. Take a look:

Yes, this is what we do when we are bored and sick at home!

A little more about Hutch, he is no fan of Sponge-Bob Square Pants, as you can see...

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-01-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

I know what you might be thinking...Christmas in Las Vegas?!? Well, Rory and I had a lot of fun! We went down with Rory's family and stayed a week. His parents did great at keeping us busy! From bowling and seeing movies to visiting the Hoover dam...I say the funnest thing we did was the "Amazing Duck Quest"! They planned this scavenger hunt that had us racing all over Downtown Vegas and the Strip, completing challenges and roadblocks! Many tasks required us to take pictures of certain things. These pictures are included in the slide show! (We all wore personalized red shirts). At the end of it all, the best team won....Rory and I were victorious! Our prize is yet to be made but we are promised a specialized trophy! It was definitely an adventure!

Mission Call

2008-12-19T21:41:00.004-07:00

Well, my little bro, Jake got his mission call yesterday!! He has been called to serve in the Mexico City East, Mexico mission! He will be leaving at the first of April. I'm so proud of you Jake! Don't worry, you can always walk home if you get home sick! (inside joke)

He called everyone to tell them the news!

Thanks Afton for the pics! I ripped them off your blog!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T08:27:00.005-07:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful and merry Christmas! We are leaving to Las Vegas and won't be back until next week. No we are not BYU fans...it is just the Duckworth family vacation!! Hope it is warmer down there than here!

Hutch wishes everyone a Merry Christmas too!

All Done!

2008-12-17T17:11:00.004-07:00

Wahoo! All done with finals! Took my last one this morning and walked out feeling okay about it! Winter break here I come! Or more like, "bed, here I come"! I haven't slept for the past two weeks!

Finals Week

2008-12-09T18:10:00.002-07:00

Well, 2 down and 2 more to go! This morning I got through my first final and turned in a take home final in the afternoon! I am now seeing light at the end of this very long tunnel! This semester has been crazy but I am just glad to be doing what I'm doing. Next week's finals should be tough so I'm starting now to study! I should have started even earlier but with everything else on my plate, there was no way! Well, wish me luck! Hope all of you out there experiencing finals week too will do well on your tests!

Temple Square

2008-12-07T13:56:00.004-07:00

Last night, Rory and I went with our friends downtown to see the lights. It was so crowded! But what do you expect for a Saturday night? The temple looked so pretty! Our camera has pretty crappy quality but here are some pics...

Oh one side note, 3D glasses makes the lights so freaken cool! You have to try it!! They turn them into little 3D snowflakes! Thanks Grace for the awesome idea and for bringing the glasses!

Afterwards, we went to Danny and Annie's house for hot cocoa and treats! We played the funnest game, thanks to Jonny and Grace, and then watched a movie! Great Saturday night...now back to studying for finals. Ahhggg!

Turkey and no sleep!

2008-12-01T14:32:00.002-07:00

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We spent the day with my family in Midway. It is so nice to get out of this smog in Salt Lake! We had some yummy food and Rory took about 3 different naps! When I say no sleep, I meant for me at least...at about 11:00 p.m. we headed over to PC to the outlet mall for the midnight madness sale! It was sure madness alright! The traffic was so bad but we ended up getting some good deals at Polo and AE. We woke up early the next morning to go to Macy's to buy what we thought was a good deal on a couch. Well, Rory didn't realize that the ad's listed price was only for the corner piece! What a scam...Haha oh well. Later we went to RC Willeys and found a couch we liked! Yes, you heard me right, we did buy a couch!! It is a big sectional, which was just delivered today in fact!! Hutch already found his designated sleeping spot on top of the pillows!

Saturday, I went back up to Midway to spend the day with my sister and mom. We decorated the house and went shopping to the Barn! Besides me catching this stupid cold, it was a great weekend!

Going to St George!

2008-11-20T18:14:00.002-07:00

Yes, we are going to St. Geezy (as my bro would call it) this weekend! After such a long and difficult week at school, it will be super nice to get away! I'm so excited because my sister Afton and I are going to Twilight Sat. night! We are both BIG fans of the books so we are really looking forward to it! It'll be a girls night out, while Trav, Rory, and Nick stay home. Of course the Utah/BYU game will be on the plans for Sat afternoon...Go Utes! Other than that, maybe a little shopping, some eating, and a whole lot of relaxing! I definitely need it...

Bond...James Bond

2008-11-14T23:27:00.003-07:00

Rory and I went with Danny and Annie tonight to see 007 Quantum of Solace! The movie was pretty good! I recommend re-watching Casino Royal before going to see this one. You can't go wrong with James Bond!! Your man will love the action and you will love....MMMMmmm Ladies, you know what I'm talking about!!

Sports crazy!

2008-11-09T19:39:00.010-07:00

How about them Utes! Thursday's night blackout game was so awesome!! So to all you U-hating, fully vested BYU fans: What up now?! Haha I'm just joking...it was a great game and Rory and I can't wait for the BIG rival game!!

Friday night, we went with Isaak and Beth to the Grizzles Hockey game! It was another amazing win!! All game it was 2-0 Ontario lead. We were about to head out in the 3rd period to beat the traffic, then at about 2 minutes remaining, they scored! With the seconds counting down, we thought it was over. But then with only 15 seconds left they scored again to tie!! Neither team scored in the 4 on 4 overtime...Shootout here we come!! We scored one and our goalie completely shut out Ontario! The crowd was crazy there! Besides the amazing win, the fighting alone was worth the ticket!! There were like 3 different fights! And I mean full-out punching, throw-down fights! It was also Susan Coleman's Breast cancer awareness night so the entire team wore their pink jerseys and the ice was pink!! If you have never been to a game...it's pretty fun and I would recommend it! Just buy the cheapest tickets and go sit where ever you want! We really had a lot of fun!

Saturday, we went to Jonny and Grace's home for Robby Swenson's B-day party! There was yummy food and great conversation! I apologize to Jonny and Grace's neighbors if we were too loud! We are a pretty wild bunch!!

PASS IT ON

2008-11-07T09:50:00.003-07:00

"Because I have been given much, I too must give"

I want to share this life changing website/Video/Life style. A while back I saw this commercial on T.V. that brought me to tears (I am a big baby). It reminded me of how lucky Courtney and I have it and that there are more important things in this world than ourselves. It also made me realize how little I do for others. Well the other night I was board and I decide to find that commercial. I ran across one of the best sites on the Internet. I started to read their message and watch the videos and I broke down in tears. That night I made a promise to not always think about my self and to do more service for others. I have always been taught to treat others, as I would like to be treated. Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder when I'm down and fill like my life is so bad, I can go to this site. It puts things into prospective of how good we really have it and how the small things can make a difference in someones life. With all the bad news in the world it’s nice to get an uplifting message. Please watch the video below and go to the website. I promise you, It will lift you up!

http://www.forbetterlife.org/

VOTE!!!

2008-11-04T21:46:00.002-07:00

Courtney and I voted tonight!!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T23:47:00.010-07:00

I hope everyone had a fun and exciting Halloween! It is my favorite holiday after Christmas! And it is a VERY close second!! This year our friends Lizzy and Rob Swenson threw a HUGE party Thursday night! It was so crazy and fun!!

We thought we were extra creative this year because we dressed up as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with golden parachutes strapped to our backs and Obama bucks stuffed in our pockets!! Well, few people actually got it...I guess we are the only ones who watch the news! It was pretty embarrassing when we had to take 10 mins to explain it to the "uninformed"! I think even after that, they still didn't get it...Oh well, we thought is was good! Thanks to the Copingas for the pic! (we forgot our camera)

On Thursday night, My mom cooked us a yummy Halloween dinner and we carved pumkins! I'm sorry, we are not that great at carving...

Rory wanted to wear his Fred Flinstone wig for fun!

Even Big Jake hung around for a bit before heading off to a party! My dad was also there, crackin' jokes over soup and talking politics of course! My sisters would recall his limo joke...oh yes, that came up! Rory had never heard it before, so it was a hit!

My parents' street was packed with trick-or-treaters because the neighbors across the way constructed this little haunted house in their garage. They had a guy with a chainsaw scaring all the kids! It was quite funny! We didn't get home until late but decided, since it was Saturday the next day, that we would rent a scary movie! Rory made us rent Steven King's "The Stand". I had no idea what it was about but dude...I'm probably a wuss but it was freaky! We only have watched half of it (it is about 6 hours long) but so far pretty good story line...maybe I'll read the book if I ever get time away from studying!

Overall, another great Halloween in the books!

California 08: The Sequel

2008-10-18T23:52:00.003-06:00

Well here are the remaining pics from our Cali trip! Saturday and Sunday, Rory and I went to Disneyland. It was fun but really crowded! After two full days of waiting in lines we needed a vacation from our vacation to say the least!! Monday we slept in and spent some time at the beach before our flight. It was really nice to soak up some rays before heading back to snow!

Sorry for the fuzzy quality on many...disposable cameras don't even come close to digital!

California Screamin'

2008-10-16T15:08:00.005-06:00

Rory and I had a great weekend in sunny California! It wasn't as "sunny" as I thought it would be but still better than the snow in Utah! Overall, it was a fun and exciting time! I was stupid enough to forget the charger to the camera so we had to go buy a disposable camera for the remaining of the trip! I have not yet developed the pics so here are half of the pictures...the other half coming soon! Friday we went to Universal Studios. Rory and I agree that it was our favorite part of the trip! It was not busy at all! The Halloween Horror Nights was so-o cool! They turned the entire park into a huge haunted house! This year they featured Nightmare on Elm Street but also included other classic scary movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th! The mazes were super scary and the backlot haunted tour was so freaky!! Rory made us be in front, so of course all the characters were jumping out for us! I wish we took more pics! It was by far the best haunted attraction either of us have ever been to!

Greetings From LOS ANGELES!!!

2008-10-10T00:32:00.005-06:00

Quick Update! I have been in LA for the last week for Farmers Insurance trainings and Courtney is flying in tonight for a fun filled weekend. For anyone who cares I have listed the things we are doing below.

Friday- Universal Studios/ Halloween Horror nights
http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/

Saturday- Disneyland
Sunday- Disneyland
Monday- Beach/ Home

Stay tune for updates!

Signs of the time

2008-09-29T17:25:00.006-06:00

I was amazed today when I saw the figures from Wall Street: almost 800 points lost resulting in one of the worst days in stock market history! With this new bailout proposal, that just today, didn't pass the house, it makes you think: What caused this collapse in the economy? Good question. Rory showed me a video on you tube. I know what you're thinking...bad source right? Besides where it came from, it makes you think. Watch it, it goes by quickly so have the pause button handy to read all the parts. Afterwards research the Community Reinvestment Act. This really opened my eyes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6fuFrdCJY

Farmer's Market

2008-09-27T12:20:00.007-06:00

After a hard week of studying and working, Rory and I last week ventured downtown to the Farmer's Market. We came home with a lot of goodies! I highly suggest shopping at your own local markets if available!! Buying local is great for you and for the environment!

With our natural gas civics, compost worm bin, and just recently, purchasing the Harmon's green reusable shopping bags, Rory and I have become quite the eco-friendly couple! Below are some great resources to research how your family can become green! Yes...I know, we are big eco-dorks...

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/

http://push.pickensplan.com/

http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

http://www.greenisuniversal.com/beinggreen.php

http://thegreenguide.com/

Back to Reality!

2008-09-20T17:00:00.000-06:00

Like I promised...more posts. Well, we haven't been doing much since summer ended, which is a good excuse for the lack of posts. Back to reality I suppose! School started up again for me and Rory has just been busy with his work!!We seriously now feel like an old couple: being boring homebodies and going to bed at 10:00! We both come home and just either crash on the couch or go straight to bed!!

School is tough but I'm managing. Between clinic and class, it is a lot to take in!! This week was especially draining because I was preparing for an exam like crazy!! I think I ended up doing pretty good though...

It all starts over tomorrow for yet another exam this week...Only difference is that I actually enjoy this class so it shouldn't be too bad studying for the test! Lets hope, right?! Well I certainly got myself into this, so I shouldn't be complaining!! I think I will like it a lot more in the actual field on not just in the classroom. Only two more years....

Dear Fellow Bloggers,

2008-09-20T09:47:00.004-06:00

Well, I realize I have been slacking on our blogging! Sorry to all those who are even remotely interested in what we have been up to! I'll try harder, I promise! More entries are coming! Stay tuned...

Happy 23rd Rory!!

2008-08-26T16:53:00.004-06:00

Rory celebrated his 23rd Birthday on the 14th! It has been tradition that we all go to the Bonzai Japanese Steakhouse for dinner on his B-days. It was so-o yummy!

We also planned a dual B-day party with our friends to celebrate both Rory and Nate's Birthdays! We had all of our friends over, or those who could make it that is... It was such a great day, someone brought up the idea of sitting outside in the backyard. Unfortunately we don't have patio furniture, so we all sat picnic style on a blanket. It was fun to visit and eat the yummy BBQ!
Rory got golf clubs for his present this year! For the past two weeks, we have gone almost every day golfing! I tried a Par 3 at Mick Riley Golf Course and actually did pretty well (or so they told me)!! Now I have become hooked...not very good but we try!!
Happy Birthday Rory!! I love you!

Busy Summer Wrap-up

2008-08-26T15:00:00.000-06:00

Rory and I have had such an fun and excited last couple weeks of summer! Too busy to sit down and blog I guess...so here is what we have been up to for the month of August:

Our good friends Issak and Beth got married on 8/8/08. It was a beautiful wedding! For our gift, Rory and I wanted to decorate their hotel room!
It was fun shopping for all the candles, roses, chocolate covered strawberries...etc. I can't believe how great it turned out!!
It looked a lot better in real life of course...

Luckily, Danny, Annie, and Roy offered their help to decorate! We would not have been able to do it all without them!! Danny and Rory were little pyros!! I was praying that we wouldn't set the whole place on fire!!!

The Great Outdoors!

2008-07-29T14:44:00.006-06:00

Yes, well Rory and I have become quite the outdoor couple! For the remaining of the holiday weekend, we joined my family camping up near the Timberlakes area on a sweet 300 + acre property, thanks to Travis's family hookups!! It was so-o fun up there! We went fishing, four-wheeling, and just hung out! Hutch LOVED it up there, except when we threw him in the water! It was his first time swimming and he was a natural...went straight for the shore! He didn't trust us much after that... Four wheeling up into the Unitas was absolutely amazing! We thought that kind of seclusion only existed in places like Yellowstone! Overall, we had a great time! Sunday, my little bro Jake had his Court of Honor. Good job Eagle! We are so proud of you!

Happy 24th!

2008-07-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

Rory and I have been none stop this summer, including this past holiday weekend! Thursday included hiking to Mt. Timpanogos cave and later enjoying dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Rory's family! Yummy-it was so good! Rory went a little crazy again with the camera, so here are a few of his best shots...

Yah, we are so strong!

I'm on top of the world!!

Courtney and Kelly

Waiting for our tour...

The cave was so amazing! An added feature is that the cave stays a constant 46 degrees! So going from a sweltering 95+ outside to the inside cool temp was quite refreshing! Rory was like a Japanese tourist inside the cave, taking pictures right and left!! I won't post any of the formations pics, but everything was super amazing!

After the long day of hiking, we enjoyed a yummy steak and ribs dinner! It was so good!

Yellowstone!

2008-07-18T15:54:00.008-06:00

July 12-15

Last weekend, Rory and I had a great time camping in Yellowstone National Park!! It was so beautiful up there! From bison walking down the road, to river otters hanging out in Trout Lake; we couldn't believe all the wildlife we saw! We even saw a mama Black Bear and her cub from far away from the road! Overall, we had a really fun time! We took so many pictures, I thought I would just share them all! Check out our slideshow!

Camping Mt Timp!

2008-07-02T21:04:00.002-06:00

Well, with nothing better to do last weekend, Rory and I headed up American Fork Canyon Friday to beautiful Mt Timpanogos. We hoped to find a campsite but instead, all that was available were these "disperse-camping" areas. I'm not one for roughing it so we should have just left; but we gave it a shot anyway...What a MISTAKE! We had to hike in all of our crap up and down a steap hill, our spot was so slanted, and the mosquitos were so bad!!! Needless to say, we left first thing the next morning (yes, at 6:30 a.m. we were out of there; tent and all)!!

Isaak and Beth went up the next day as planned and FOUND a campsite at Timpanooke campground!! I couldn't believe it! We went up for dinner Saturday night and again Sunday afternoon to hike Sundance! It was a great hike and we had a lot of fun!!

When we arrived to the Waterfall, it started to rain like crazy!! We were soaking wet as we ran from the downpour! It was actually nice for me because, thanks to my mother's jeans, I don't sweat that much (just get red in the face), so the rain acted as a subsitute! Hutch hates any sort of water! He was squinting his eyes and was trying to run for cover! It was really funny...

The Ultimate Jazz fans!!

2008-06-25T23:02:00.002-06:00

Rory found this on facebook in the Utah Jazz Fans page!

Two thumbs up!! Go Jazz!!

One whole year!

2008-06-25T22:45:00.000-06:00

Well, since we already went on our "Anniversary Cruise" vacation back in May, our first year celebration was pretty low-key. Rory and I spent the weekend finishing our garage by priming and painting the walls!

It was hard work but we are happy with the end product!

Here is Rory hard at work!! Finally after 3 hours of using rollers, Rory went down to Home Depot and rented this spray gun! Well worth the money! It saved our arms as well as hours of unnecessary labor!
By the end of it all, we both looked like ghosts! I teased Rory that this was what we are going to look like in 50 years!

A first-year anniversary isn't complete without a little wedding cake! After painting, we went to dinner and came home to eat some of this yummy cake, courteous of Glauss Bakery (the very same bakery we used for our wedding last year!).

We can't believe that it has been a whole year already! How time flies!

Money in the Bank!

2008-06-18T00:26:00.003-06:00

Wow, the only time I love getting a letter from the IRS. Can you say "Stimulus Check"? My happiness was short lived when I saw my credit card bill. O well... I am sorry to say Courtney and I will not be retiring this year.

Fresh Start to Summer!

2008-06-17T13:30:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend, Rory and I got outside to enjoy this great summer weather to garden! We planted tons of flowers, about 6 tomato plants, and our newly acquired Washington Naval Orange tree...well it is more like a bush.

It was so nice to finally plant some colorful flowers in our pots out front and in our dreary backyard!As you can see, Hutch was not much help. He simply sat out sun-baking until it was time for us to release the lady bugs we bought from Home Depot. I think Hutch chased every ladybug out of our yard! Too bad...They really are good for the plants!
The ladybugs flew everywhere! Rory had so many crawling on him! It was lots of fun!
Well, maybe we did better planting these pots last year, but I still think they turned out ok!
After that day though, Rory is no longer allowed to be anywhere near knifes! Smart as he is, he still managed to stab himself in the ankle while we were enjoying our day's work out on our porch! Rory insisted that I put this picture on...sorry for those with a weak stomach! It was pretty gruesome! Blood was everywhere! I'm just glad we were outside!

The good old days

2008-06-14T19:31:00.004-06:00

Doesn't this make you sick?!? Sucks that even though Rory and I drive a natural gas car, we pay for the ever increasing gas prices with the rising cost of other goods! What to do?.....

Hutch has a visit!

2008-06-10T18:20:00.000-06:00

Well our little puppy is growing up! He now has a girlfriend! Last week, Hallie, the Copinga's dog, came to stay. They were really great with eachother except when it came to bones or rawhides! They had some mean brawls and I tell yah, Hallie puts up a great fight!! I guess we know who wears the pants in that relationship! Unfortunately, it has now turned "long distance" and Hutch is very depressed! I give him a couple of days to get over it....

May in Review

2008-06-09T16:29:00.010-06:00

Well so far this summer has been really fun and eventful for us! Here's for all who want catch up on what we have been up to!

Feels good to finally graduate, even though I have two more years of grad school! I look forward to attending the U Speech Pathology program in the fall; but until then I'm soaking up every minute I have this summer! Talking about soaking-it-up, Rory and I along with my fam. headed for St. George a few weeks ago! It was so nice to have the whole family together again! It was great weather and we really enjoyed ourselves!
After the St. George weekend getaway, Rory and I decided to keep driving to San Diego and go on a Mexican Carnival Cruise!! We were already half-way to California and didn't want to go back to work in SLC so it just made sense!! It turned out to be one of our funnest trips together! The food was great and it was really relaxing!
The boat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either! Our stateroom was very roomy and there were tons of things to do everyday!! I have to admit though that I did get sea sick. One would think all those trips to Lake Powell every year when I was young would cure all that?! Oh well, nothing a little Dramamine couldn't fix... Our first port-of-call was in Cabo San Lucas! We didn't plan any shore excursions, so instead we just hung out at this super nice resort all afternoon! Amazing food and great sunshine...well at least for me. Rory opted to rest under our own private cabana all afternoon drinking pina coladas (virgin of course).
Rory turned out to be quite the volunteer on the ship! Here he is with our cruise director Stew from down-unda during the very-excited horse racing activity, during which Rory annouced the beginning to every race with a creative hollar! I only wish I could have taken pics during the hypnotist where he was told to be Michael Jackson and dance across the stage to Thriller! It was hillarious!
Our second port-of-call was in Ensanada, Mexico. Rory rates this city one grade higher than TJ. It was pretty ghetto in town. We decided to venture off on a shopping tour to the famous blowhole, which turned out to be pretty disappointing! The shops were filled with people and and really annoying vendors! "Come buy a purse amigo...I'll give you a special price!" Whatever, everything was crap and totally a rip-off. So we didn't end up buying anything. Oh well. There's always TJ right?